The Adjective Check List (ACL) was administered to 142 enrolling GED students to investigate the relationship between students' self-descriptions on the instrument and their persuant persistence behavior in the program. It was hypothesized that there would be no significant ACL scale score differences between those students who discontinued their GED program prior to completion and those who completed or persisted at least 10 weeks. A principal component design was used to reduce data confounding. The first principal component accounted for 43% of the total variance. A significant difference was found between dropouts and persisters on the first component's indexes; the null hypothesis was rejected. A profile of the dropout prone was established. They tended to describe themselves as more rebellious, hostile, assertive, impulsive, headstrong, irresponsible, less socialized, less able to give prolonged effort, and less willing to subordinate themselves to others. While being inattentive to the needs of others, they may desire more supportive and dependent relationships than persisters. Persisters were seen as more obliging, tactful, diligent, practical, and compliant than the dropout. They were more interested in stability and reduced risk-taking. In relationships they were more concerned about the needs of others, more supportive, more persevering, and more able to yield to the reasonable requests of others. It was concluded that recognition of the student's self-described personological profile could be an important consideration in the attempt to improve retention. (Author/TA)